PepsiCo closing Pryor Gatorade plant
Last Update: 12:16 pm Related Links
* Gatorade layoffs * Pryor plant will close, leaving 485 employees searching for jobs * Gatorade announces cuts at Pryor plant * Gatorade plant closed * More jobs than people to fill them in Pryor
Citing tough economic times and "current market demands," PepsiCo announced Thursday that it has shut down the Gatorade plant in Pryor.
In a statement released via email by PepsiCo Regional Spokesman Pat Burke, the company said that it was forced to make a "difficult business decision" in order to keep "Gatorade's overall manufacturing capacity in line with current market demands."
Burke's press release says that all regular manufacturing and shift work has ended, and that crews will continue to work on completing the plant closure.
All employees, Burke said, will receive three months and one week of full pay and benefits, as well as additional assistance in the form of outplacement services and counseling for the workers and their families.
PepsiCo has also committed to maintaining the facility until a new company can move in, and to honor its 2010 charitable commitments.
The announcement comes just over a year after the plant went into production of Thirst Quencher and Propel Fitness Water drinks.
The Pryor facility, touted as the largest of its kind under the Gatorade aegis, employed more than 200 people.
